stevestonbike

[stevestonbike]

Busy Weekend.

As for myself I did a modest 58 km ride Saturday as I had an appointment later in the day. The weather was cool, but mostly with some sun. For the second time I needed sunscreen. I did the loop through Stanley Park.

Next day my wife did the Vancouver Sun Run. It is a 10km event with about 40,000 registered, over 35,000 showed up. I escorted her to the start mob and shortcut to about halfway to cheer her, finally met up at the finish line. I walked about 6km and you know it is much easier with wheels. I was FN tired!

I cannot run and my walking speed is still compromised. Bikes no problem, but my recovery from an ancient knee injury left me with a funny gait. Nuf Said.

After the event we went to a Yale Town Brew pub for a recovery beer and Pizza. Then home and collapse.

I am well within striking distance of the April distance. Less so the 5 year running average, but we shall see. I am feeling pretty good on the bike. I need to head to the North Shore soon. Gotta book the distance.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Outside in the week.

Got home after work. It was sunny and cool and the wind was not too bad. Should I ride outside or do a sweaty workout inside. Outside it is!

Did my old loop to YVR. 33.3 km in a relatively slow 1:19. The wind by the airport was much stronger, surprise! The wind sock by the helicopter base was straight out. Not the best, but at least pointing to the east. The homeward run by the runway is east so a least a tailwind then. But outbound Grrrr, just grind it out.

I managed a pathetic 24 kph into the wind. At the turn around I was in still air at 25 kph. The return was low 30s for several km. Southbound to my house it was a quartering tailwind. I kept an average of just over 25 kph for the whole trip.

Oh and shorts for the first time this year riding outside.

My best time was over 30 kph on that loop. That was in HOT weather and NO wind. Wind always slows you down overall. Oh that time I was in really good shape. I have had my moments.

We are at almost exactly 30% of the year. I have got some bike related thing done on 33% of the days. I am on track to pass last year's numbers to date, and within striking distance of my running 5 year average. I will have to push to get that.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling #granfondo whistler

[stevestonbike]

Smaller ride.

Another session in the basement.

This time I did the calibration step of my Kinetics Turbo trainer. The Power from that and my bike agreed pretty well. During the session I managed to hit all the targets wit the right degree of discomfort, but got them done. The timer was off by the gap it took to do the calibration, but 6 seconds is not too bad.

So my trouble with previous sessions was the turbo resistance. If I win the lottery I may buy one of those fancy motorized video game trainers. For now I blow my disposable income on vinyl records for my stereo.

This weekend my be wet or dry or both. Still not warm though.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling #granfondo whistler

[stevestonbike]

Bigger ride.

My wife had a sewing client coming over for which I make myself scarce. So I decided to go longer. I went out west in Flatmond to the imaginatively named #7 Road. There was a big tailwind out so turning back East was going to be not easy. I planned my next leg as somewhere in the city but not sure where. I stopped at a rest area to top up my bottle and eat my snack.

As I was eating the bar a young couple (most people are younger than I) pulled up wearing black kit with the name of my old club. "Hi, I used to ride with your club." Then some modest banter ending with "Say hello to the old group for me.."

There were quite a few riders out. I got started after 10:00 so most riders were already out for an hour or so. It was chilly and as noted FN windy. At least the sun was out and I had remembered sunscreen.

I crossed the train bridge to Cambie Street then shifted over to Ontario Street to get downtown. The auto traffic was nuts. Ontario is a usually quiet residential street with some steep bits. I had to go over to the sidewalk and passed dozens of cars. They had gridlock I had to avoid humans.

Just as I cleared that part the same couple came up behind me so we rode almost together for a bit. I told them I was heading to Stanley Park but they were not. This route goes around the inlet called False Creek and just nicks Downtown with real city traffic. The buildings stop the wind, but also the sunshine.

I got out to the Park and rested at Prospect Point for a few minutes. I was 45 km into the ride and feeling OK. I had two options to head home by. One is basically straight home the other via UBC and that hill. It aint hard its just work. I had done a fair bit of climbing already. My average speed had been 26kph and was now down to 21.

I guessed that I would hit 80ish km going straight home. So I picked that. Doing the UBC part would have hit 90 or so. As I passed the Burrard Bridge I figured I was going to be short like 79. I knew the distance from this one corner to home as that was where the old club met up. One advantage of that was I added 36 km round trip to every club ride by getting to the meet up and back.

I would watch the distance and pad it if needed. I did so by adding 2 km of distance by YVR and looping around that discount mall the planes fly so low over.

One nice thing that is I felt good. My legs did not ache with fatigue as the previous long ride. I was not in survival mode. I was just riding along. I was not energetic or fast or capable of pushing much harder I was in a nice comfortable zone. Progress is happening.

If I remember to take more snacks and two bottles I may venture over to the north shore soon. Oh and warmer weather would be good. I may also just add in the UBC leg. A loop around Flatmond and UBC and YVR gets close to 100km. That is the next milestone.

Not bad for April.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Basement riding.

It is not a fun activity. It is a classic example of delayed gratification. Something unpleasant now to make something pleasant later.

Two sessions this week. Both I found really hard to hold the numbers. First session I just could not hold to the targets and skipped a couple of the sprint sections. Second session I noticed that there were two very different power numbers.

My old Turbo trainer has a power curve and a dongle that talks to an app on my phone. It reports a power number and my training app uses that. I also have a power meter on the bike. Usually they are pretty close. Last night I saw that the bike power meter was 40 or 50 Watts higher than the turbo's number. So I guess I was pushing over the "real" target numbers.

Last night I decided to use the power value off the bike computer instead of the turbo and surprise it was fine.

The turbo can be pretty good, but the pressure on the tire roller and air pressure in the tire affects the friction and the Watts value. There is a calibration feature, but that always throws off the time display of the segments.

I guess I was not doing as bad as I thought.

Still I cannot pass that washing machine.

Soon the weather will break and the days will be long enough to ride outside in the week after work. Then I should start booking bigger distances.

I just passed 1000km for the year to date.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

First Ride in 7 days.

My brother flew in and I missed my weekday rides. Hey priorities. So today I did another loop to UBC but I stretched it by adding another climb. So Much Fun..... It is good for me.

Once again partway down the long hill from UBC a woman passed me. Same one as last week? Could be, similar build but it could not be the same one could it? If she was I could not keep up this time. I missed those rides and was not quite as strong. Or the extra climbing yes that is it.

I was ahead of the previous year to date, so the missing days just even that out.

It is still cool here. With the fat tires, thermal gear and fenders my speed was still decent. My average was over 24 kph in cool air.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #cycling #fitness

[stevestonbike]

Did a nice ride in the real world.

I was in a bit of a rush as the grandkids were coming over. So 54 km in a bit over two hours. It was clear but still cool weather. It is now the end of March and I have fully caught up with my previous year to date and my 5 year running average. I am just shy of 1000 km to date.

I did the loop out to UBC past the beaches. So there was that hill and I felt fine. I even passed some people! One reason I like the UBC loop is there is a long gently downhill run on the return. It is usually accompanied with a tail wind. That is good on top of good and I usually go pretty fast there. (for an old man).

On that downhill run a heard a voice behind me. There is wind noise but anytime someone says something coming up behind me they are warning of a passing manoeuvre. I did not understand what was said but I pulled to the right. A girl passed me in a tuck and went on. She got about 20 meters ahead and then did not pull away.

I do not like being passed by girls. Yes that is silly, but hey I was once fairly strong and quick. Also I can basically keep up with the average woman cyclist even much younger than I. Except of course on big hills. She was booting along and had nice legs for some reason. I cannot help but notice. I am a male if old and all that.

If you get within 4 or 5 meters of a person at a decent speed you get into a slipstream and it is easier. As she did not pull away I pushed a bit and started to catch up. I got about a bike length behind. I figured she would drop me on the first up hill and I would enjoy the help in the meanwhile.

This went on for about 7 km. She did not drop me on the hills, but they were small. On the last bump before the bridge she slowed and I passed her. As I did I looked over and said; "I was sure you were going to drop me on those hills." I heard a short laugh as I went ahead. I pulled hard on the next 2 km leg and she followed. She did not follow me over the bridge so the game was over.

The great thing about club riding is you get to play games like that a lot. The bad thing is there is some bullshit to deal with too.

I have hopes for this year. I may yet bump into some old friends on the road.

Keep on rolling.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Not always cherries.

I did another basement ride. I have 35 km to go to clear my 5 year average for the year to April 1. I am doing OK. Mostly.

I had a tough time holding the numbers last night. The same numbers as the HIIT Session previously which was "easy". Sometimes it is not all progress. Or maybe my body is still feeling the effects of that longer outside ride. HIITs are basic strength and cardio. Endurance is different.

The absolutely longest indoor session I did was one hour. It was torture. Yes it is all a head game there, but I guess I am just weak when it comes to that type of self-discipline or whatever. I know people do several hours. Maybe that is the justification for the video game type trainers. 2 to 3 k in dollars and you can pretend to do the L'Alpe-d' Heuz. That would take me a while. It would be distracting and that is the thing. When the only thing you can think about is the clock ticking and how much your bum hurts there is no math to do.

So it was good I did it. I did not do it good.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Two more rides in.

Between another basement ride and a real one I have 97 km more done. I have now made up for the short January and February compared to last year. If I clear 56km more by the end of March I will cover off the numbers for my 5 year running average. So back on track.

I held off my weekend ride to Sunday as the weather was much better. Why ride in the rain and wind when tomorrow is clear and much warmer? So I did a slightly longer ride at 90 meters short of 80 km. I was aiming for more, but I was getting tired, so I did not push it. 80 km is good for March. I should get over 100 in April and can think seriously about a mountain in May. That will really help get me in shape.

My Garmin was threatening to run out of battery. I had a 40% charge and it will last over 8 hours in summer from full. I tried to keep track of the time and distance home if it ran out. I just could not focus the brain enough. In the end it did not.

After my shower my wife and I went into the village. The streets around us were gridlocked. The Cherry Blossoms in the local park were out. Its nice people wanted to see them, rather negative they all sat in a traffic jam to get into a small parking lot. We walked. It is nice to live so close to cool stuff. We went into the village for lunch after taking photos of the cherry blossoms.

After that we walked home and tried not to nap. We were both tired. My wife is training for a 10k in April, and had got back from a loop just as I got back from mine. The event is a big one.

At one time it was the biggest 10k in the world. They typically get almost 50,000 people especially if the weather is good. I can't run so I leave it to her. But she can't do the Whistler ride so it evens out.

It is good to do real things. Your body likes it.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling #Vancouver Sun Run

[stevestonbike]

17 km farther.

I passed March of last year by 10km. I have almost two more weeks to do more. I can beat my 5 year average and maybe even make up ground on my arbitrary and ultimately meaningless numbers.

I bumped my power figure up a wee bit so the HIIT efforts last night were a bit harder, but still doable. I could say comfortable, but that is not right. Well within my capabilities while being uncomfortable. Not cross-eyed though. I am still getting better.

My resting heart rate is at 56 though last night sleeping I got close to 50 for a bit if the FITBIT is to be believed. It averages over the night. How it comes up with the RHR is a mystery. Sometimes sitting at my desk at work my heart rate is below the RHR figure it has.

That is spooky but good. My heart is working more efficiently. That is a nice thing for an old man. I know a guy who had a fight with his doctor as he was super fit and his RHR was low. Doctors call that Bradycardia. Anything less than 60 and they want to do pacemaker surgery and drugs. Unless you are 1) young and fit or 2) old and fit.

Am I bragging? Yes kinda, but I worked really hard on it.

One way of estimating your VO2 Max is as follows. Take your maximum heart rate (measured) divide by your resting heart rate then multiply that by 15.3. With my current numbers I get 45.9 ml/kg/min. That may be a bit too high in my case, but it is an estimate. The actual max heart rate is uncertain at this time. I have not been able to hit it on my trainer for a long time.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling #granfondo whistler

[stevestonbike]

Sunny day, but not as warm as I hoped.

I did another 72 km ride. Well 71.97, but lets round it up a wee bit. My elapsed time was 7.8% less for the same gross effort of the previous ride. The terrain was a bit harder too.

The previous 72klicker was out to the city through Stanley Park then back to the flats with a leg out past the airport. This one was also out to Stanley Park but back via the road past the beaches and up the big hill to UBC, then home. That hill is one of my "markers" to how fit I feel. If I feel comfortable that is good. I am not quite there yet. I was about 45km into the ride and felt tired. It will get better.

Overall I am on track. It was not quite 20C so I needed a few layers. I took two snacks and two water bottles with Ice Tea mix. Caffeine is good for riding. (Actually a good late ride energy drink is full sugar Coca Cola, oh and NOT Red Bull)

Following up on my last post about fast twitch muscles I noticed something. The way FTMs build endurance is by "recruiting". Lower than max efforts use only a small proportion of the muscle fibers at one time. When those get exhausted the effort moves over to another set of fiber bundles. This is like a relay race within the muscle set. I could feel that I had exhausted parts of my muscles, but I could still go on. As I get fitter that becomes less prominent.

That action is what body builders exploit to make BIG muscles. Long repetitive efforts at less than maximum force. Muscles get bigger to bring a bigger team to the game.

For Fast twitchers it is what you need to build endurance. I can keep up only just to skinny riders whose entire leg mass is less than one of mine.

If you read up on the science confusion will be your companion. Unless you are an exercise physiologist. Muscle types can change. I imagine mine have as I have a couple decades of riding seriously. It takes me a while to work up to summer shape. After that ride I wanted a Nap. Later in the season I will not feel so tired after a ride like that.

#bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Hey Sugar!

Every BODY is different. From a fitness or strength perspective it has to do with muscle types. Those determine the kind of activity you will be good at. It also determines the type of fuel your body uses to move.

The mythical average person has a 50/50 split with what are called fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. There are apparently sub-types and lots of detail physiologists will tease out, but lets keep it simple.

In the most simple terms slow twitch burns fat, and fast twitch burns sugar. That is a really really simple version.

A world class marathon racer is predominantly a slow twitcher. They burn fat which is why they can run for so long just with a bit of water. Single digit body fat is lots for these guys.

One pound of fat has 3500 calories of energy in it. I for example burn about that much energy doing the entire 121 km ride up to Whistler including all those hills. It is a shame I aint a slow twitcher. I burn sugar. I am mostly fast twitch. My DNA test showed I have two markers for strength and power muscles when one is enough for Olympic gold. File that under wasted potential....

As an aside all the riding I have done so far this year burned 1.2 lbs of fat equivalent. All my riding last year burned 35lbs of fat equivalent.

So I suck at endurance and chose an endurance sport. Good move big guy. I coped by growing more muscles in my legs, (and gaining weight dammit). Its cool I look good in shorts as my legs are impressive though far short of the body building look. But muscles are heavy so I work to stay under 200 lbs....just.

What that means is I have to eat during long rides. I can last about an hour to 90 minutes without a snack. More than that is bad. Read up on Bonking. As a sugar burner I need things with sugar, and a specific kind.

Your body burns Glucose. From that it makes Glycogen which is what fast twitch muscles burn. Slow twitchers burn that too, but there are these handy bugs called mitochondria in slow twitch muscles which take care of converting the fat to muscle go juice.

Table sugar is a disaccharide which is two mono-saccharides bonded. One is Glucose and the other is Fructose. One reason table sugar is so sweet tasting is your body needs more to get the glucose part out. Maltose is pure glucose, so it tastes less sweet.

Fancy power bars done properly have maltose sugar in them. Less sweet and easier to digest. I used to use Cliff's shot blocks as they were like that, and easy to pop in your mouth. But they are now so expensive I can't anymore. So I flail around for alternatives. Even things with table sugar.

I will put a sports drink in my water bottles, but most of those have sucrose and too much salt for me. (And they are Expensive!) Iced Tea mix is a cheaper alternative if I have to deal with ordinary sugar anyway.

Common power bars have other stuff, but will do. I found that Fig Newton Bars work well for me and I really like them. Alternatives are dried dates and things like that. I avoid raisins and peanuts (GORP) as the small bits do bad things if you inhale one. And riding up a mountain you tend to breathe hard.

Why talk about this? Well I need to get in supplies for longer rides. A three hour ride needs one good snack. Longer needs more.

My big training ride is a 5 hour round trip up a local ski hill from home. The more of those I do the better I do on my big day.

So warm weather is coming. Gonna go riding and have fun!

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling #granfondo whistler

[stevestonbike]

Its looking good.

My Garmin computer is saying my VO2 Max is up to 41. Celebrations and fireworks. My other computer says it is even more. They are all estimates. Anything 40 and above is really good for an old man.

I am within 95 km of beating March 2023. I will not say its in the bag. I can get hit by a car and that would ruin it. I have three weekends and 5 weekday sessions to the end of the month. Dare I say I may even meet my 5 year running average.

Most promising is the weather forecast for Saturday is nice. I mean actually Nice. Over 20 C (68F) and sunny. I am genuinely excited. We are talking shorts again and only a light jacket for the back pocket. I expect there will be many cyclist out blinking in the bright sunshine.

I plan a 75% ride. That is where I push to 75% Max HR minimum speed. For training it is cool to see the speed on course go up while the effort remains the same. So it will be into the city and probably Stanley Park and UBC. So 3 ish hours.

Keep the rubber side down!

#fitblr #old man on a bike #cycling in vancouver #fitness #cycling #pedal dammit #granfondo whistler

[stevestonbike]

The Road.

The metropolitan area of Vancouver has tried to add features to the roads to improve things for cyclists. For the most part it is adding lane dividers between the traffic and the bike shoulder. Here and there over maybe 1% of the roads frequented by riders.

Results are mixed. There are these plastic sticks glued to the road that indicate the respective areas. They are often run over by cars or guys in big pickup trucks demonstrating how manly they are. I know of two incidents where they caused a bike crash. One of them was mine.

There are also concrete barriers set down in places where cars are suspected of straying too wide in curves or turns. Every set I know of has had one or more pushed over by a car or truck. Some actually block the bike lane. I do not know if the city ever does any repair of these as I have seen them off over months to years.

The concrete barriers also stop the motion of traffic from clearing leaves and debris off the shoulder. Street sweepers miss or ignore the bike areas. So bike lanes full of crap often slippery sand or leaves.

Sometimes a city will pave a small lane just for bikes separated with curbs and even fencing. I have yet to see one that was not horrible. As they are small and narrow they lay the pavement with small machines that leave the surface rough or with short period waves that on a bike moving at any speed over 20 kph will rattle your teeth.

Generally I do not like what has been done. I always feel more comfortable just riding on the side of the road on a clean surface.

I get a chuckle when a white line on the road stops and there is a sign that says "Bike lane Ends". Do they expect riders to just stop and wait? What is the purpose of that sign? Past it there still is a shoulder and often a new white line. Things you see.

I am approaching 100,000 km on the road since I got serious. I should clear that this year. Four bikes, countless tires, even more inner tubes, dozens of chains and more than a few gear sets. This is not a brag, but I have been hit by cars more times than I can remember. I had counted up to 5 or was it 6? Then things get fuzzy.

I have had at least one and perhaps two concussions. Hard to remember. The road is hard. I have broken a few helmets. I cringe whenever I see a rider without one.

So why the F do I do this? I like being a fit old geezer basically. I can do things that intimidate "normal" people. Or I am just FN crazy. I hope to do that granfondo when I am past 80.

#bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Yes wind blows

I was going out so bring it on. 30kph with gusts. It turned out not too bad outbound. Tailwinds are good and bad. Bad when homeward bound and it is against you. Yes that all happened.

My average speed out was over 25kph even with the hill sections. I went out to UBC and they were having a triathlon. Some People were riding in parkas. They just wanted to say they did one I guess. I had my fancy bike clothes four layers on top and was comfortable, and a bit more aero than a parka.

In an uphill section I was pacing ahead of the racers near me. But they were not the top group. Hell I figure it is fine to out pace younger people who are not "seasoned" riders. I am an old man. I get senior discounts for chrisake. Take what you can when you can.

On a back loop I stopped for a snack and ran into one of the people from the club I am quitting. She came up behind me. She had been cheering a friend at the race. She asked about my plans, told her and she understood my reasons. Nice woman. Large but a good rider.

So the return loop was hard. The last 10k was straight into the wind. Head down and push. That's all you can do. Rain was predicted and held off until the last 4k then she came down.

Very unpleasant.

I lived. Only 52km, but it was in the real world and that makes it good.

I am on blood pressure meds. For shits and giggles I took my BP after my shower. Hows 98 over 65. Low and high according to health professionals.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Little by Little we go forward.

Another 38 minutes of sweat. My average speed is the same, but my heart rate was marginally down. So I will take that.

These rides are not what actually builds my fitness. They only help me to get ready to go outside and that is where it really happens. You need effort, time and the big D (distance). This weekend is forecast to be wet and cold. I can handle that.

Next week is supposed to actually be spring like. Warming and all that good stuff. Longer days and Daylight Savings starts. I can even think about weekday after work rides. Oh be still my heart.

Motivation is important. 9 years ago I bought a new fancy Carbon Fiber bike in January and I went a little crazy. I got out every time I could. That year I booked and average of 610 km every month from Jan to October. Of course I know people who have done double that, but that entails travel to Majorca and Italy, the bastards.

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling

[stevestonbike]

Inside rides grrrrr

I did another HIIT session and it was just as unpleasant as usual. 38 minutes of not having fun. But I hit all the numbers the computer asked of me. I may have to dial up the intensity or not.

They call this delayed gratification.

This is all to build my fitness for real rides in the world. Even in the cold and rain outside is better. I have been out in every weather and know how to survive. Even horrible times give you war stories.

This weekend is promising bad weather so I am playing head games already. It is still cold and there is fresh snow on the mountains. Too late to salvage the ski season, but I don't do that anymore.

One more HIIT session tomorrow and then we will see what happens Saturday

#fitblr #bikeblr #old man on a bike #pedal dammit #cycling in vancouver #granfondo whistler #fitness #cycling